Regional Cooperation in Marine Plastic Waste Cleanup in the South China Sea Region

This paper uses countries in the South China Sea Region (SCSR) as examples to study the level of regional cooperation in the marine plastic waste cleanup initiative. We designed a cooperation model to investigate the “cleanup system” from the Ocean Cleanup initiative to reduce marine plastic pollution. The non-cooperative game theory was applied to regional cooperation. The simulation results indicate that the plastic waste cleanup cooperation in the SCSR is related to the plastic trade network structure, the influence parameters of the Experience-Weighted Attraction learning model, and the economic effects. The results suggest that regional cooperation in the cleanup system in the SCSR is feasible, and it could create a significantly larger investment in the cleanup project than the current project attracts. Therefore, countries in the SCSR should adjust their laws and policies to make a good cooperative environment and to maximize the contribution to the marine plastic waste cleanup.